French insurer Scor has reported a net income of €40 million ($52 million) for the six months ending June 30 after being hit with €423 million ($551 million) of claims from natural catastrophes.

This was down 74.4% on the corresponding 2010 period.

Apart from claims from natural disasters in Australasia and Japan, Scor’s losses included legal claims from the World Trade Centre disaster and the sale of its fixed annuity business in the US.

Gross written premium was €3.4 billion ($4.4 billion), up 4.4% on the corresponding 2010 period.

Its property and casualty business achieved gross written premium of €1.9 billion ($2.8 billion) while Scor Global Life’s premium income was €1.4 billion ($1.8 billion), down 2.5% on the 2010 half year.

Reinsurance treaty renewals for property, casualty and specialty lines were up 22% for €320 million ($418 million) at June 30.

The growth in property and casualty renewals mainly stemmed from Asia, where increased market share and improved primary and reinsurance rates delivered stronger performance.